Will Smith's Comments Suggest Jaden Smith Might Be Cast as Miles Morales in the MCU

Jaden Smith may have already been cast to play Miles Morales in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, based on comments his father Will Smith made in a recent interview. Separately, a producer on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has addressed that mysterious Illuminati scene from the trailer, and Benedict Cumberbatch's own words point to reshoots happening on that film not long before its release.

In the interview, Will Smith said of his son: "My son is preparing himself physically and mentally to take the place of one of the characters who will make history for the first time in the saga of a movie that many already know and ask for." A lot of people are reading that as a live action version of Miles Morales, especially given the wording about making history for the first time in a saga that has already been going on for some time, meaning this character would be something very different from what has come before.

Why Miles Morales Fits What Will Smith Described

Every live action Spider-Man so far has been Peter Parker, and every one of them has been a white male. Miles Morales, as the first Black and Puerto Rican Spider-Man, would certainly make history on the big screen in live action, something that has not happened yet even though he has already appeared in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and was set to appear in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Live action is the one place we have not seen him.

There was also just a Miles Morales reference in Spider-Man: No Way Home, when Jamie Foxx's Electro says there has to be a Black Spider-Man out there somewhere, and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man just nods and smiles. That reads as a clear easter egg for Miles Morales, and I do think Marvel would be foolish not to at least start introducing him in the MCU during this final Spider-Man trilogy with Tom Holland, though it is not confirmed that this is in fact Holland's final trilogy.

No Way Home also set up F.E.A.S.T., the organization Miles Morales volunteers at in the comics, and Aunt May was obviously a huge part of that storyline. It would make sense for Peter Parker to volunteer there too in the next Spider-Man films in commemoration of Aunt May, so the pieces do seem to be in place for Miles to be introduced.

Jaden Smith's Acting Background and the Physical Side of the Role

Jaden Smith is mostly known for The Karate Kid, for acting alongside his father in The Pursuit of Happyness and After Earth, and for other big movies like The Day the Earth Stood Still, so he has a fair amount of acting experience. He also happens to be a pretty big fan cast from the Marvel audience for Miles Morales already.

Will Smith specifically said his son is preparing himself both mentally and physically, and any version of Spider-Man is going to be a physically demanding role. Tom Holland does some of his own stunts, though he has a stunt team for the big ones, and he had been doing gymnastics since he was a little kid, so it would make sense for the studio to want that kind of physical background in whoever plays Miles Morales.

My Take on the Casting

I typically trust Marvel Studios with their casting choices because they have hit the nail on the head every time so far. I am not a huge Jaden Smith fan based on the movies he has been in, but a lot can change over the years, and if he has indeed been cast as Miles Morales, I am certainly willing to give him a chance and willing to trust Marvel Studios on this one.

Doctor Strange Producer Richie Palmer on That Illuminati Voice

One of the best scenes in the trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the Illuminati scene, and producer Richie Palmer has now addressed it in a recent interview. Asked about the mysterious voice in the film, and told it is not so mysterious to those who have seen the X-Men movies, Palmer replied by quoting the first X-Men film: "Are you sure you saw what you saw?" He added, "There are infinite versions of these characters and just because you may have heard something familiar doesn't mean it's someone you have seen before."

If he is telling the truth about that, it means the Professor Xavier we hear in that trailer shot is most likely not the same Professor X seen in the original X-Men films or Logan, but rather a variant of Professor Xavier we have never seen before. The interviewer then raised the idea that some of the biggest names in Hollywood might show up in these Illuminati roles, asking whether there could be some super secret, ultra high profile variants involved.

Palmer replied, "I would love to see Tony again, but some rumors are just rumors. I will say that I love the Illuminati, but if we ever introduce the Illuminati in the future, it might be more MCU driven and have some more ties to our characters in the MCU versus just replicating what's in the comics." That is very clever wording, because he is technically not admitting that what we see in the trailer is the Illuminati, even though it clearly is, a council of superheroes with what sounds like Professor Xavier's own voice.

What he is basically saying is that this is a multiversal variant Illuminati, not one made up of the main characters from the MCU's main timeline, and that when the Illuminati does eventually show up in the main timeline, it likely will not be the original comic book lineup. He also is not going to straight up confirm that Tony Stark is returning, since he cannot say that, so his coy answer does not rule it out either. Who actually shows up remains to be seen, but I am very curious who people want to see in that lineup.

Benedict Cumberbatch Points to More Doctor Strange Reshoots

On top of the Illuminati talk, it looks like there are some more reshoots happening on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The film has already had massive delays due to the pandemic along with a few more delays at the end of last year and earlier this year, and the trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder still had not arrived even though that film was also getting close to release, which tells you the productions were not finished yet. Now it appears the same kind of thing is happening with Doctor Strange, based on comments from Benedict Cumberbatch himself, who in an interview mentioned not being able to stay in Los Angeles the whole time and described doing further research and work on Doctor Strange.

Keep in mind the premiere date for the movie had already been set at that point, and the official release date for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness had already been pushed back several times. A lot of people were messaging with concern about what Cumberbatch said, but I think we were too close to the actual release date and premiere for any type of rescheduling to happen at that stage.

It is worth remembering that Avengers: Endgame and Infinity War were not finished until right before their own premieres either. Basically, the studio works non stop until a movie comes out to make it the best it can be, so I am not too worried about these reshoots. If anything, it is actually a good thing, since it means they are trying to make the movie better and get the scenes just right.

Do you think Jaden Smith has actually been cast as Miles Morales, and who would you want to see show up in the Illuminati?